• The urgency to deploy AI-powered technologies is increasing: 71% of respondents said their organization embraces AI with a moderate to high level of urgency.
  • 82% of organizations in KSA plan to invest in upskilling employees on AI.
  • Only 12% of local organizations are currently fully equipped with infrastructure to meet AI workloads.

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh: Ahead of LEAP 2024 technology conference in Riyadh, Cisco announced the findings of its AI Readiness Index in Saudi Arabia. The Index, which surveyed over 8,000 companies across 30 countries, was developed in response to the accelerated adoption of AI. The survey shows that 93% of organizations in KSA have an AI strategy in place or under development, while only 8% consider themselves fully prepared to deploy and leverage AI.

Improving the efficiency of and increasing productivity was ranked among the top outcomes that companies are looking to drive through adoption of AI, with 47% of respondents in KSA placing it on top of gains they expect from AI. Opening new revenue streams was the lowest on the list of expectations, as ranked by 30% of respondents.

On talent development, 31% of KSA respondents ranked comprehension and proficiency of AI tools and technologies as the primary skill gap. The good news is that organizations are taking steps to address this gap. Among the organizations surveyed in Kingdom, 82% say they are investing in training employees in this area.

On infrastructure readiness, the survey shows that a mere 12% of local organizations in KSA have networks that are fully flexible to handle the complexity of AI workloads. Cybersecurity also needs increased focus, as 70% of respondents fall short of being “fully equipped” to detect and prevent adversarial attacks on AI models.​

Commenting on the results of the study, Salman Faqeeh, Managing Director, Cisco Saudi Arabia said: “Saudi Arabia has made significant strides in recent years to establish itself as a leading player in the field of AI. The Kingdom recognizes the transformative potential of AI and has placed it at the center of its Vision 2030”. He added: “At Cisco, we believe in the critical role of AI to revolutionize industries and drive innovation, and it has been an important element across our portfolio for over a decade. As the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) is working to implement the National Strategy for Data and AI, the insights from the index can help inform the prioritization across important pillars including strategy, infrastructure, data, governance, talent, and culture.”

This year, Cisco’s participation at LEAP is revolving around the theme of “AI Unleashed: Shaping Sustainable Digital Evolution”. Visitors will be able to engage with subject matter experts at Cisco’s booth and discover demos to harness the power of AI to enable a sustainable, securely connected future. The company will showcase its latest technology innovations, spanning networking, security, collaboration, and applications, besides industry use-cases alongside its channels and ecosystem partners.

Reem Asaad, Vice President for Cisco Middle East, Türkiye, Africa, Romania, and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), commented: “Cisco has a long-standing presence in the region, working to advance national digital economies, develop infrastructure, strengthen cybersecurity, and build the region’s talent pool. This year at LEAP, we are excited to demonstrate the power of our portfolio to support our customers and partners in Saudi Arabia and beyond in leveraging our latest technologies to increase efficiencies and drive innovation.”

LEAP 2024 will be held from 4-7 March at the Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Centre, Malham in Saudi Arabia. Cisco stand will be located at booth J10, Hall 1 – Big Tech.

Cisco AI Readiness Index 

The new Cisco AI Readiness Index is based on a double-blind survey of 8,161 private sector business and IT leaders across 30 markets, conducted by an independent third-party surveying respondents from companies with 500 or more employees. The Index assessed respondents’ AI readiness across six key pillars: strategy, infrastructure, data, talent, governance, and culture.

Companies were examined on 49 different metrics across these six pillars to determine a readiness score for each, as well as an overall readiness score for the respondents’ organization. Each indicator was assigned an individual weightage based on its relative importance to achieving readiness for the applicable pillar. Based on their overall score, Cisco has identified four groups at different levels of organizational readiness – Pacesetters (fully prepared), Chasers (moderately prepared), Followers (limited preparedness), and Laggards (unprepared). 

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